This invention relates to the field of television, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for switching between a television viewing mode and a guide mode which comprises program guide screens, for telecast programs, and video tape index guide screens, for recorded programs.
Television systems are available which include various types of on-screen guides to provide a viewer with information about available programs. Electronic program guides (EPG) provide information about currently telecast programs and programs to be broadcast in the future. An EPG includes program listings which provide time, channel, length, and title information for a program and may also provide a brief description of the content of the program in a separate portion of the screen. Many EPG systems have the capability to sort program listings by type, time, or viewer preferences.
Tape indexing systems for video cassette recorders (VCR) allow a viewer to identify a recorded program stored in the viewer""s video tape library. Such systems also provide an on-screen directory of programs available on a loaded tape and can automatically scan through the video tape to the position of the desired program stored on the tape.
Some types of EPG and tape index guides include screens with a picture in picture (PIP) window for displaying moving, real time images or still images from a selected television program.
It is desirable to provide a television system which has both types of guides, i.e., an EPG and a tape index guide, and which facilitates navigation in a guide mode between the various guide screens and between the guide mode and a normal television viewing mode, in which a selected television program is viewed full screen.
It is also desirable to provide a viewer with the capability to control which program is displayed in the PIP window in the guide mode in the same manner the viewer would in the normal television viewing mode. This includes switching between tuned channels or between the outputs of the tuner and the VCR.
A television system according to the present invention includes a tape indexing and searching (TIS) apparatus for generating a tape index display, an electronic program guide (EPG) apparatus for generating an EPG display, a VCR for playing recorded television programs, and a tuner for receiving broadcast television programs. The video outputs of the two guide apparatus are connected to a guide switch and the video output of the tuner and the VCR are connected to a program source switch. A PIP chip is operatively connected to the guide switch and the program source switch such that in an active mode the PIP chip displays on a television screen a PIP window displaying the moving, real time images of a selected program overlaid on a background comprising selected guide information.
Preferably a microprocessor controls and coordinates the operation of the PIP chip and the switches so that the viewer may navigate between the various screens of the guide mode and the normal television viewing mode, and display a desired program in the PIP window.
By pressing a guide/tv button on the remote controller, the viewer may enter either an EPG or tape index guide from the normal television mode and also return to the television mode from either type of guide. In either the television or guide mode, a program source button toggles the program display between a tuned program and a recorded program playing on the VCR. In the guide mode, a guide/index button toggles between the EPG and the tape index guide. In the television mode, a PIP button allows the viewer to view the program being output from one program source, i.e., the tuner or the VCR, while viewing the program output from the other program source full screen.